California farmers face 'catastrophic' water restrictions. Can they adapt to survive?
Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER: "It was 2015 and, as far as John Konda knew, farming still had a viable future in the San Joaquin Valley."
"So he expanded."
"The Tulare County grower planted 75 acres of pistachios, adding to a farm he’s owned since 2003. Two years later, in order to augment his water supply, he drilled two new groundwater wells."
FACT CHECK: Does California have the nation's 'worst' air quality?
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "In a letter to California’s Air Resources Board, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler this week accused the Golden State of having the worst air quality in the nation."
"Democrats rebuffed Wheeler, mostly because Wheeler in the letter also threatened to withhold federal highway funding from the state in an ongoing dispute over whether California can set its own air quality standards."
"But both parties should be able to agree on Wheeler’s argument that California has poor air quality. In fact, that air quality is one reason the Nixon administration in 1970 granted California a waiver that allowed the state to set stricter air quality regulations than the rest of the country."
PG&E restores power to most on third day of 48,000-customer shutoff
Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH/VINCENT MOLESKI: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it had restored power to most customers affected by the preventive power shutoff, with all of Napa, Placer, Plumas and Sonoma counties fully restored."
"Butte County was hovering just below 50 percent power, while Nevada County was at 62.3 percent and Yuba County was 56.2 percent restored."
"PG&E said it had began patrolling areas affected by the shutoff, conducting safety inspections on 2,785 miles of line and starting repairs on damaged equipment earlier in the day."
Costco shooting: LAPD officer won't face criminal charges; security video released
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON/COLLEEN SHALBY/CINDY CARCAMO: "Riverside County prosecutors on Wednesday announced they would not file criminal charges against an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot an intellectually disabled man in June during a confrontation in a Costco store in Corona."
"Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin said prosecutors presented the case Sept. 9 to a Riverside grand jury of 19 people, which compelled testimony from witnesses inside the crowded warehouse store. Ultimately, the grand jury decided no charges were warranted against the off-duty officer, Salvador Sanchez, in the fatal shooting of Kenneth French, 32."
"The district attorney’s office presented incriminating as well as exculpatory evidence to the grand jury, which California prosecutors are required to do, and Hestrin said his office solicited questions from an attorney who represents Sanchez, a patrol officer in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Division."
Julian Castro calls for compassion, resources in Oakland homeless camp tour
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro toured a homeless camp in Oakland on Wednesday and said more affordable housing is needed to ease the crisis of people living on the streets."
"The former housing and urban development secretary proposed a plan in June that calls for $40 billion in annual funding for the national Housing Trust Fund. The money would go toward creating 3 million affordable apartments over 10 years in an effort to end homelessness."
"What you see is that we have a crisis, and we are not going to address that crisis by being cruel to people,” Castro said at the camp outside a Home Depot in the Fruitvale neighborhood. “We need to be compassionate and we need to empower people. We need to provide the resources for the kind of housing that people need."
READ MORE related to Homelessness: Sacramento urges Supreme Court to review homeless ruling -- Sacramento Bee's ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS/THERESA CLIFT
Why humpback whales and condors are at the center of California's latest lawsuit against Trump
Sacramento Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "Standing in front of wetlands at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Wednesday a lawsuit to challenge the federal government’s move to roll back regulations that protect threatened animals and wildlife under the Endangered Species Act."
"Insects, animals, birds are disappearing,” Becerra said during a Monday press conference. “The reason so many species on this planet are endangered is because humankind has not taken a look at the science, or the data, that we are unbalancing that ecosystem."
"The lawsuit, California’s 62nd against President Donald Trump’s administration, was launched to challenge the U.S. Department of the Interior’s proposed rule announced in August that would deconstruct key elements of the law."
READ MORE related to Environment: A new California fight against Trump over water, fish, the Delta and the environment -- Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER
Here's how impeachment poses a danger -- to Democrats
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has blessed an impeachment inquiry into President Trump — something that many in her party have wanted for two years — what could go wrong for Democrats?"
"A lot."
"Impeachment could damage Trump politically — at the least — or even end his presidency in the unlikely event the GOP-led Senate turns on him. But Democrats are taking a risk, too, by going down this road."
READ MORE related to Impeachment Inquiry: Trump asked Ukraine's leader for a 'favor' -- help investigating Joe Biden and a California company -- LA Times's NOAH BIERMAN/CHRIS MEGERIAN/JENNIFER HABERKORN; Trump's actions with Ukraine epitomize framers' idea of impeachable offense, scholars say -- LA Times's DAVID G SAVAGE; Why White House account of Trump's Ukraine call is not a word-for-word transcript -- AP; Acting spy chief to testify on whistleblower's complaint -- LA Times's DEL QUENTIN WILBER
Trump and California keep clashing. Will it help him fight impeachment and win in 2020?
Sacramento Bee's BRYAN ANDERSON/SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday he has “no doubt” President Donald Trump will be impeached."
"God’s delays are not God’s denials,” Newsom told “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah. “But here’s the stubborn question: The question is will he be removed from office?"
"That, Newsom said, will depend on core Republican voters. If they turn on him, he thinks Republican representatives in Congress will, too."
(OP-ED) AB5: Small solution, big problems
NICK SCHULTZ/WINGHAM ROWAN in Capitol Weekly: "Assembly Bill 5 has been signed; now the battle begins. The bill compels some businesses, and labor platforms like Uber, Lyft, Doordash, TaskRabbit or GrubHub to classify their on-demand workers as employees with labor law protections."
"Honking drivers circled the capital as AB5 was debated. Uber’s chief legal officer has already said they won’t comply. A $90m war chest is being readied for a ballot initiative promoting weaker protections."
"But, even if AB5 endures, it only addresses one part of today’s precarious labor market. 41% of hourly employees don’t know next week’s hours or pay, despite filing a W2 tax form. Meanwhile California’s off-the-books shadow economy, made up largely of ad-hoc work, costs the state $8.5 billion annually in lost tax revenue."
Seven arrested during SF climate protest
The Chronicle's ALEJANDRO SERRANO: "Seven people were arrested and released as more than a hundred climate activists closed a section of San Francisco’s Financial District with a rally Wednesday to demand financial institutions and government agencies in the region divest from fossil fuels and invest in green alternatives."
"The protest, organized by local groups that include Idle No More SFBay and 1000 Grandmothers, started around 7 a.m. and was expected to continue until 5 p.m., when many of the Financial District’s workers are leaving the office for the day."
"My adulthood is at stake,” said Isabella Zizi, 25, a member of Idle No More SFBay. “I don’t know how much time we have left — if life will be sustainable or livable — if we don’t reduce our use of fossil fuels."
Plan to put more youths in SF juvenile hall 'dead in the water'
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed has nixed a controversial proposal to add a six-month “therapeutic program” inside juvenile hall, a plan that would have increased the population of the mostly empty facility, even as the city prepares to shut it down."
"Juvenile probation officials announced this month their intent to create the “Commitment to Success” program, for males aged 16 to 18 who would have spent at least six months in the maximum security setting, participating in a range of programs including anger management, financial literacy and job training."
"The controversial idea drew immediate criticism from supervisors, who vowed to pull back the Juvenile Probation Department’s budget and ban the use of juvenile hall for such programming."
Mayor pulls out of talks on SF mental health overhaul
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "After two months of talks, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Wednesday that she’s pulling out of negotiations with two supervisors over their sweeping proposal to overhaul the city’s mental health care system."
"City officials met five times since July over Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney’s proposed ballot measure — dubbed Mental Health SF — but could not reach consensus over how to fix the city’s behavioral health system. The supervisors and mayor said months ago that instead of battling each other over the plan, they’d work together to craft a comprehensive overhaul, but hope of collaboration faded Wednesday."
"The turbulence surrounding Mental Health SF reflects a growing acrimony between city leaders over how to tackle San Francisco’s mental health crisis, and the conflict threatens to suffocate progress. Breed and the supervisors have also been at odds over a controversial proposal by the Department of Public Health to transform a number of long-term treatment beds at SF General Hospital into temporary respite spots."
Yosemite rangers battle trash buildup from rock climbers
The Chronicle's GREGORY THOMAS: "In the days leading to a massive annual cleanup event in Yosemite Valley, climbing ranger Jesse McGahey was already thinking about one place he would probe for hidden deposits of trash: the top of El Capitan."
"That’s where rangers recently retrieved hundreds of pounds of junk left by rock climbers, a cohort of seemingly unlikely culprits. Most of it was old gear — dirty nylon ropes, haul bags, climbing shoes — and lots of plastic water bottles. But in July, McGahey also found something he never had to clean up before: a used poop tube, the cylindrical waste-disposal apparatus that accompanies climbers who wrestle with big walls for days at a time."
Kaiser Permanente reaches tentative deal with unions, averting October strike
Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "Kaiser Permanente announced Wednesday that it has reached a tentative four-year contract agreement with a coalition of three of its unions, averting an October strike by more than 80,000 workers."
"We greatly respect and value our employees who deliver on our mission every day,” said Arlene Peasnall, interim chief human resources officer, Kaiser Permanente Health Plan and Hospitals. “This agreement is a testament to the dedication, compassion and skill those employees bring to work every day and demonstrates that Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition have a shared commitment to affordability for our members."
"As part of the tentative agreement, the nonprofit health care giant will provide members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions with annual pay increases of percent — 3 percent a year for workers in California — and create a program to reduce the national shortage of health care workers."
DUI, dishonesty, shootings: Sacramento sheriff's files reveal deputy discipline cases
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "One deputy was driving to work – after a day of drinking four rum and cokes – when he rear-ended a car carrying a pregnant woman who later had a miscarriage. He drove away from the scene and was later fired."
"Another was responding to a call at a Rancho Cordova motel when he saw a shadowy figure in a stairwell and fired a shot at it, nearly hitting another deputy who had come to help him. He ended up with a letter of reprimand."
"Yet another was investigating a prowler call in Arden Arcade near the end of his shift when he decided to take evidence the prowler had left behind – car keys, a cell phone and some meth pipes – and throw it into a bowling alley dumpster rather than book it into evidence. He was later fired."
